


Light In The Dark

by insertwittyname



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Battle, Canon Trans Character, Child Abandonment, Extremely minor character death, F/M, M/M, Pyromania, Slow Burn, but it's not really described
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-02-15 21:37:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13039920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insertwittyname/pseuds/insertwittyname
Summary: Taako and Lup are the twin deities of fire, representing its ability to both destroy and give and maintain life. They are young and misuse their abilities, so they're sent to live with the Raven Queen and her son in order to find the balance between destruction and creation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a long fic in a hot minute, but I'm really gonna give this one a shot. Originally, I was inspired by the amazing art of rhymeswithmonth on tumblr, I highly recommend looking at their art of the AU that inspired by own twist on the concept!
> 
> (I'm a sucker for songs that pair with fics, so for chapter one: You Cannot by Erin McKeown. A very Taako and Lup song in general.)

“Do you ever wonder why the mortals fear us?”

Barry looked up from his book, a slight frown on his face as he pondered what Kravitz had said. The other teen was gazing out the window towards the people on the planet below and lazily strumming on his guitar a few chords of some hymn they sang to please him at their festivals. When Barry didn't answer within a minute, Kravitz looked at him with a curious and slightly concerned expression. He put his book down and cleared his throat, “I...I mean, besides the fact that you’re the god of Death?”

Kravitz hummed in understanding as he watched his own fingers mindlessly plucked at the strings, “Well, yes. But Death isn't that bad. My mother does a fine job of making the Afterlife nice. You have your family who’s already passed and get another life in a way. Nothing much different from what they have on their planet.”

Barry nodded thoughtfully, “But they still don't get to see those still alive for a while. They have to leave behind their families. I'm sure that would be scary.”

“I suppose...” Kravitz glanced back out the window, “I wish I could tell them they have nothing to fear. It's not like they could ever really escape it, anyway.” He chuckled.

A knock on the door caught their attention, and Kravitz muttered a “enter” as he set his guitar to the side. The door opened and in stepped his mother, dark robes flowing behind her as she moved into the room. Barry scrambled to stand and bowed to her, making her smile as she gently touched his head and moved past him to stand in front of her son, “Kravitz, dearest, do you have plans for the day?”

Kravitz shrugged, “Not if you need something.”

“We shall be hosting some visitors starting today, I was hoping you would be around to greet them.” She said as she adjusted Kravitz’s collar, which was perfectly straight to begin with. It was a habit he had clearly picked up from her.

“Who? And for what purpose?” Kravitz tilted his head in curiosity.

The Raven Queen paused, “If you recall, Taako and Lup are about your age, and are…acting out. Istus and I were hoping if they were supervised by me, perhaps it would calm them a bit. And I’m sure you would be a good influence on them, as well.”

“So, you have to act as a glorified wet nurse for two deities who can’t handle their power?” Kravitz frowned a bit.

“Not only me. I expect you to help keep an eye on them when you are not busy with your own duties. Being so close in age, you can relate more to them than I.” She looked at Barry, “If you could, I would ask you to help, as well. Even a demigod such as yourself may be able to help, especially since you are just as well-behaved.” Barry, a bit taken aback, could only nod in agreement. The Raven Queen turned back to her son, “Now, please look your best. Nicest clothing, do your hair--” She ran her hand through his short locs.

“I know, I know.” Kravitz smiled and brushed her hand away, “I always look my best for company.”

“And yet I still feel the need to remind you.” She kissed his forehead and turned to leave, “Thank you for this, my son. I am sure the mortals would be grateful for your aid, as well.”

The Raven Queen turned to leave, looking back at Barry from the doorway, “And please, at least wear your nicest jeans when you meet them.”

“Y-yes, ma'am.” Barry stuttered before she left, the door closing automatically behind her. He looked at Kravitz, who had taken to putting his guitar away so he could get ready, “I'm meeting actual, real gods, Krav. And I’m gonna help you help them.”

Kravitz laughed, “You've been best friends with one for years now.” He pulled off his shirt and tossed it at Barry’s face, who instead caught it and threw it in the basket of dirty clothes.

“You know what I mean. Ones I wasn’t technically adopted by. I mean, my dad might be a god, but this the first time I’m really meeting another full one besides you and your mom.” He grumbled and made his way to his own quarters to change.

“Well, congratulations, today is your lucky day.” Kravitz chuckled.  
-

A few hours later, Kravitz stood waiting with his mother and Barry in the long throne room, where his mother usually greeted guests, particularly other gods and goddesses. It was large and ornately decorated with red and black detailing, illuminated by a large chandelier in the center and wide windows on either side of the room through which the sunlight streamed. When they were little, the two boys enjoyed playing between the tall dark pillars, pretending to be the older gods they had been told stories of, the ones who had created the world they now knew. It was here Kravitz had been announced as the god of Death while still a baby.

Now, the young man and his best friend were bored as they whispered to each other about whether they'd be able to get away with taking extra pastries from the kitchen that night before bed, while the Raven Queen pretended not to hear their conspiracy against the poor, long-suffering chef (although she would warn him to keep the pastries well-hidden later). After having waited for a short time, there came a commotion from the other side of the closed doors across the chamber from them. The three looked at each other in confusion as they listened to what seemed like a bit of a scuffle, ended suddenly with a crash and a loud laugh that seemed more carefree than it should have been considering what had happened. Barry was about to step forward to see what had happened when the doors burst open.

Into the chamber two figures seemed to strut down the long corridor towards the Raven Queen and the teens. The twins wore identical robes which flowed behind them, reds and oranges and yellows blending to look like the fire they easily weld. One with long blonde hair in a braid wore a long black dress that flowed with his robe, while the other with her hair cut close to her head wore a long-sleeve black shirt and some red shorts to match. Their matching black boots made almost no noise as they confidently came to stand in front of their hosts.

The one in the dress bowed dramatically with a smirk. When he spoke, his voice held more than a hint of sarcasm along with the obviously-fake sophistication and posh, “Hello m’lady and m’men. How very kind of you to invite us so graciously into your palace. Us, but two poor souls, worthless and—”

The other twin giggled, and it sounded identical to the laugh they heard before they had entered, “Oh, lay off, doofus.” She looked back up at the deities in front of them, “We were told we had to come here to get some sense knocked into us?”

The Raven Queen looked down at the two figures with an expression Kravitz knew as her being annoyed, but still attempting to stay calm and polite, “Taako, Lup, I humbly welcome you to my home.” She spread her arms in a welcoming gesture, “I trust you found no trouble in your journey here?”

“Nope!” The one in the dress replied, standing up and resting a hand on his jutted hip as he mumbled to his sister. “But boy did we make some along the way, huh, Lulu?” His sister giggled again and nudged him.

“Well then, I am sure you are aware of who I am.” The Raven Queen motioned to Kravitz and Barry to her left, who stepped forward, “This is my son, Kravitz, and Barry.”

Kravitz slightly bowed, putting on his best polite smile, “It is a pleasure to meet you two. I have heard many wonderful things.”

The twins looked him up and down and shared a glance with each other before they looked to Barry, who also bowed, “Uh, yeah. It’s nice to meet you.”

The girl, Lup, bowed a little back, “You guys, too. So which one of you is the death one?” She teased.

“If you mean god of Death, that would be me.” Kravitz stepped forward, and Taako seemed to gravitate more towards him than the young man would have liked.

“We’re the god and goddess of fire, creation and destruction. We help keep you in business.” Taako nudged Kravitz softly, a teasing smile on his face that perfectly matched his sisters, “No need to thank us, though.”

Lup hummed in agreement, then looked at the Raven Queen, “Look, my brother and I are just having a little fun. We were given these powers, we’re using them how they were intended. We destroy, we give life. I dunno why we were sent here if we’re only doing what we’re supposed to.”

The Raven Queen shook her head, “But there must be a balance. There comes a responsibility with these abilities we possess as deities. I will help teach you what yours should be.”

“And just how do you know what that is? Don’t we know what we can and should do more than you? As long as we don’t kill people and overcrowd your domain, I don’t see the big deal.” Taako raised an eyebrow as a challenge at the Raven Queen, but soon went back to openly admiring Kravitz, who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable until he took a step back from the other teen.

Kravitz looked more at Lup, pointedly trying to avoid looking at Taako in case he got any ideas, “What my mother is trying to say, is you’re abusing your powers. The mortals fear you—”

“Good!” They both said in unison.

“Too much. Sure, they fear me, but they don’t always fear me. We’ve seen them increasingly fear your unpredictability. At least they mostly know what can do to try to avoid Death.” Kravitz glanced at Taako, who now looked more annoyed than anything.

“And if we refuse your ‘help’?” Taako added (overdramatic) air-quotes around “help.”

The Raven Queen frowned, “Then you will destroy the balance our kind have worked centuries to forge out of chaos. They will not worship you as they do the rest of us, and I’m sure there will be consequences far more severe if you destroy more than Istus fated to be destroyed. Consequences you may not find as humorous as you so obviously find the chaos you’ve been creating.”

Lup looked at Taako with a smirk on her lips, “Think we can give up a bit of our time to let them set us straight, Koko?”

“Worth a shot, Lulu.” Taako smiled at Kravitz, “I’m sure it won’t be a total loss. Where are we supposed to stay while we’re trapped here, anyway?”

“I will have a servant take you to your temporary quarters. Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to.” The Raven Queen nodded her head once as a farewell and left the chamber.

A few silent moments later, Taako looked over at Barry, who was still on the top step looking more than a little nervous, “Who are you, anyway? God of awkwardness?”

“Demigod of discovery, actually.” He said quietly, and looked down at his feet.

Lup smiled fondly at him, “Aww, cute little nerd. Were you sent here, too? Having too much fun giving the mortals discoveries?”

Barry frowned, “I live here, I have since I was a baby.”

“Oh, so you probably never got the chance to really have fun and see what you could do for people.” Lup smirked and winked, “Hang with us and maybe we can try it out.”

Barry was about to reply when a servant entered the chamber to lead the twins to their room, saving him. He and Kravitz watched as the two left the room before giving each other exasperated looks. Kravitz sighed and ran his hands over his face, “That went well, didn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, this is gonna be a fun time. Can’t wait.” Barry stared at the now-closed doors through which the twins had left.

“It certainly could be worse.”

“How?”

Kravitz stopped and thought a moment, then looked at Barry, “I’m not sure. But it probably could.”

Barry laughed a little, “You know, that’s exactly what people say before things get way worse.”

“I’m the god of Death, Barry. What could possibly go wro—shit, that’s not any better.”

“You know what? Just stop while you’re ahead. Wanna go get those pastries?” Barry stepped down and started heading towards the doors.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Kravitz smiled and followed close behind as they made their way to the kitchen, rehashing their plan to get to their prize.


	2. Chapter 2

Taako collapsed on one of the two large beds in their temporary home, groaning softly the second his face hit the pillow, “Oh fuck, Lulu, this is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever touched in my whole fucking life.”

Lup giggled a little as she made her way to the large windows, which made up most of the far wall. She knelt on the bench ledge underneath and peered down at the people below, “You know, this might not be all bad. At least we get a nice room and free food.”

“And free eye candy, too.” Taako turned onto his side and smirked, “That Kravitz guy is hot.”

“Oh, keep it in your pants. You know we won’t be here that long.”

Taako nodded solemnly and traced patterns into the dark red bedspread, “Yeah…But still, it could be nice to finally have a boyfriend or something.”

His sister turned and moved to lay down next to him, a soft look on her face, “Taako, you know that’s not smart. Remember what our aunt said?”

“If you don’t pick up your clothes, I’m feeding them to the horses?” Taako smirked as he looked at her, then back at how his fingers moved over the bed.

“Don’t get too attached, especially considering who we are. He may be a god, too, but we have to protect ourselves.” She watched his fingers with him, “With our abilities, you never know who could use us.”

Taako was quiet for a while before he sighed, “She wasn’t a deity, though. She couldn’t know what our kind would do with each other.” He looked at her, hope shining in his forest green eyes, “Maybe he’s different.”

Lup reached over to move some hair out of Taako’s face, “Well…I guess you could see how things work out.” They smiled at each other for a moment before she sat up, “But for now, I say we have a little more fun before they start making us be responsible.”

“But Lulu, we already probably hurt that poor guard, shouldn’t we take a break from using our powers for such destruction?” Taako said, looking concerned as he sat up. They looked at each other for a couple moments before they both burst into laughter and got off the bed.

“You know, you almost had me going there.” Lup laughed as she held the door open for her brother.

“Nah, you know I don’t give a shit.” Taako chuckled as he headed out.

-

As Kravitz and Barry were making their way back to Kravitz’s room with their treats, the two could see the twins making their way out to one of the courtyards, specifically the garden Kravitz spent most of his time in when he wasn’t busy. Barry was the first to notice the brief flash of red from the robes as they turned a corner, and stopped in his tracks, putting an arm out to stop his friend, “Did you see that?”

Kravitz stopped in his tracks, halfway through a bite of a pastry as he looked around, “See what?”

Instead of answering, Barry hurried down the hall and around the corner to see the twins on their way outside. He frowned and pointed at them so Kravitz could see them when he made his way down the hall. Barry called to them, “What are you guys doing?”

Taako turned and walked backwards as he called back with a smile, “We’re gonna go have some fun, wanna join?”

“Whose definition of fun?”

“Probably not yours, nerd!” Lup looked back at him with a smirk, “Maybe your friend’s if he decides to take the stick out of his ass.”

Kravitz frowned, “I highly doubt that. And I’ll have you know I can be quite fun!”

“Prove it.” Taako winked and turned back to walk out to the door to the gardens, Lup following closely behind. Barry and Kravitz looked at each other, weighing their options, before Kravitz started to follow them to the garden.

“Krav, what are you doing?! We’re supposed to—”

“At the very least, I’m making sure they don’t destroy everything.”

Barry watched as his friend followed them out to the garden. He mulled it over, sighing as he decided to go, too, and hurried out the door. By the time he made it outside, one bush was already on fire and Kravitz looked like he was going to faint.

“That…I planted that. Myself…” Kravitz said quietly as he stared at the burning bush that once contained his favorite roses.

Lup looked back at him, the bright light of the fire making her blonde hair glow, “That’s pretty ironic. But hey, now you can grow new ones.”

Kravitz looked angrier than Barry had ever seen him, hands curling into fists as he started to shift into his skeletal form. Barry hurried over and put a hand on his best friend’s shoulder as he addressed the twins, “You can’t just destroy things around here. That’s kinda the whole point of us helping you.”

“Listen, nerd, we’re just having a little bit of fun before we start being responsible and shit. Tell your boney friend to fucking chillax. I thought he said he was fun.” Taako mumbled the last part, then rolled his eyes as he reached towards the burning bush and curled his hand into a fist, the flames extinguishing themselves as he did.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Kravitz nearly yelled at them, now fully a skeleton, “Have you no sense of decency? You’re our guests, we’re trying to help you, and you destroy the roses I’ve been growing since I was a child?”

Taako and Lup exchanged a quick look before Taako moved closer to Kravitz, only a little shorter as he got in the other god’s face, “We were forced to come here and threatened for using our powers. You’re not exactly the most gracious host in the world, pal, I hate to break it to ya. We’re fucking prisoners and if we wanna burn some fucking flowers, guess what we’re gonna do?” He reached both arms out and flames soon engulfed the rest of the flower bushes and trees in the garden. Taako smiled wickedly as Kravitz watched in horror, “We’re gonna burn some fucking flowers.”

Kravitz was in shock as he watched his favorite place in the palace burn. He heard as Barry angrily but calmly tried to reason with Taako, but didn’t register anything his friend was saying. After what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a couple minutes, Lup caved and put out the fire, but the damage had been done. He and the palace help would have to spend weeks just replanting everything, years getting it all back to its former glory.

“We’re just gonna go back to our room.” Kravitz heard Lup say after all the flames were out, tugging a reluctant Taako along behind her. He watched as they left, then collapsed onto his knees when they disappeared into the palace.

Barry instantly had his arms around his best friend’s shoulders and spoke softly as Kravitz returned to his flesh form, “It’ll be okay, Krav. We can start replanting things first thing tomorrow.”

“I know, I just…” Kravitz sniffled a little as he leaned into Barry’s arms, “Fuck, I didn’t do anything to them. They have no control over themselves. They’re completely apathetic.”

“Hopefully that’ll change soon enough.” Barry rubbed his back and held Kravitz for a few minutes before pulling back to look at him, “I think we should get out of here, seeing all this isn’t gonna make you feel any better.”

Kravitz just nodded and let Barry help him to his feet and lead him back to his room, where they both nearly collapsed back on the large bed. They were quiet until they heard a soft knock on the door, just before the Raven Queen entered, “I was told there has already been an issue with our guests?”

“Yeah, to put it lightly. They’re not gonna listen to us, I don’t think.” Barry replied as he sat up to face her.

“I was not expecting it to be easy. Not to worry, I have a guard keeping an eye on them and intend on having them under full surveillance until they prove they can be trusted.”

“I don’t think they’ll react well to it. They already think they’re prisoners here.”

“Clearly they must be treated as such or they will destroy everything.” The Raven Queen made her way over to Kravitz, placing a gentle hand on his knee, “How are you feeling?”

Kravitz sat up and looked at his mother, seeming far more exhausted now than he had half an hour ago, “Angry. If they do something like this again, I want them gone.”

The Raven Queen shook his head a little and placed both hands on his cheeks, cradling his face so he would look her in the eyes, “That is not your decision to make. What happened is unfortunate and unacceptable, but I am still determined to make them realize the error of their ways.”

“They have no remorse for what they’ve done, mother! They will destroy our home before they accept that they could be wrong! I would have them thrown off the mountain now if I could.”

“Kravitz, know your place. Those twins are our fellow deities, we have a duty to the mortals to aid them and I intend to do so. And you, my son, will do so as well. Do you understand?”

Kravitz frowned but nodded, looking down, “Yes, mother.”

The Raven Queen nodded once and removed her hands from his face, glancing at Barry, “Tomorrow, I request you two show the twins how you use your abilities responsibly. Set a good example.” Both boys nodded in agreement and she left the room.

Barry looked at Kravitz, putting a hand on his shoulder, “If it makes you feel any better, at least we know Lup can be reasoned with. That’s something to work with.”

“Let’s hope so.” The young man stood up and made his way to his window seat, grabbing his guitar, “I swear, Barry, if my mother would let me, they would be gone.”

“I know.” He nodded and watched his friend gently pluck at the strings, “But at least we know they can’t hurt people while they’re here. The damage they did is pretty much repairable.”

His friend sent him a little glare, “I planted those roses myself when I was a child. I spent hours out there tending them. And those twins didn’t care.”

Barry frowned, “You can’t honestly say those roses are more important to you than mortal lives. You’re the god of Death, but you’re not a bad person.” Kravitz stopped strumming when he said that, looking at him with a mixture of hurt and confusion, “You know the value of human life. It’s better your roses than a mortal.”

“You’re right.” Kravitz replied after a minute of silence with a sigh, “That doesn’t make what they did hurt any less.”

“No, I don’t expect it to. Just…take the good with the bad, I suppose. At least it wasn’t someone who didn’t deserve to be hurt or killed by their lack of control.” Barry moved to sit across from his friend, gently placing a hand on his knee, “And I know the next roses you grow will be even better.”

Kravitz smiled at his friend softly, the other young man smiling back, “Thank you, Barry.”

-

“You know I was right, Lulu. They’re treating us like prisoners.” Taako said as he brushed out his hair in the mirror.

Lup watched her brother for a moment before looking back down at the book in front of her on the bed. It was one telling the stories of the deities who had created the world they now knew; the stories their aunt had told them for so long, so they would know their predecessors, have examples of the greatness they would achieve one day. She sighed and looked back up at her brother, “I don’t think you should’ve burned the whole garden, Koko. You saw how upset it made Kravitz. He really cared about it.”

Taako turned so quickly she feared he would get whiplash, “Don’t tell me they’re getting to you. I didn’t hurt anyone.”

“You did hurt him, though. I could tell and I know you could, too.” She moved to sit up on her knees from where she was laying on her stomach, “Listen, I have fun using the fire, too, but maybe we should reel it in a little. I don’t wanna destroy everything.”

“That’s why you’re the rebirth one of the two of us.” Taako put the brush down and made his way to his sister’s bed, “Lup, I know that’s your job, but you gotta let me do mine, too. Things have to burn sometimes. Old gets destroyed so new can rise up, that bullshit. Burning is part of life.”

“But how can things live if all we do is burn them?” Lup took one of Taako’s hands, “Maybe…maybe they’re right. We need to stop this destruction.”

Taako stared at her for a few moments before pulling his hand away and shaking his head, “Fine. You can stop using your abilities, but I won’t.” He turned and walked into the large bathroom connected to their room and slammed the door, leaving Lup to sigh and go back to reading while thinking about how she could convince him to see things the way she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter took a hot minute to write and it's a little rushed, but I hope it's at least readable. On the bright side, I have plans for a couple more things to include in this fic and I can't wait for y'all to see it!
> 
> Comments, as always, are really helpful and help me know what y'all like so if you wanna, feel free to leave them! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning at breakfast, Barry and Kravitz were already dressed and eating in the main dining room. They sat next to each other at one end of the long, dark mahogany table, Kravitz pushing his eggs around his plate more than eating them. He was still upset about the garden, and hardly slept the night before out of grief from the loss of his favorite place. Barry cast concerned glances over to him every couple minutes, but didn’t say anything; it wouldn’t help anything to make him talk about it, despite how much it worried his best friend.

Long after the two had finished eating or gave up on trying to eat, the twins emerged through the tall doors behind Kravitz and Barry. They wore matching black dresses with their red robes and Kravitz couldn’t help but feel more annoyed as they sat across from him at the table and each reached for food. Taako smiled pleasantly at him as he took a bite of an apple, “Sleep well, Krav?”

“Splendidly, and it’s Kravitz.” He rolled his eyes as he stood, lightly tugging Barry up with him, “Now, let’s go. We have a lot to do today.”

“Give us a minute to eat first.” Lup said around a bite of a danish.

“You had plenty of time to get down here and eat earlier.”

Barry frowned as Kravitz swept out of the room, motioning for the three of them to follow him. He looked at the twins, “Just bring food with you.”

Taako groaned loudly as he grabbed a couple croissants and followed Barry and Kravitz, Lup grabbing some bacon and an orange as she shoved the rest of the danish in her mouth, “Oh c’mon, are you really still pissed about the flowers?”

Kravitz turned sharply and opened his mouth to most likely yell, but instead collected himself and managed to look marginally less angry, “Taako, since you seem to cover more of the destructive aspects of fire, you’ll be coming with me, and Lup with Barry.” He turned back around to head out of the palace, the twins sighing in exasperation as the group made their way down the mountain.

-

Barry smiled softly as he crossed through the walls of a university, Lup clearly bored already as she looked around at the students rushing between classes or reading on benches. She was thankful none of the mortals could see them, not only because of their deity status, but also the fact that she would rather be caught dead than hanging out with these nerds. As the two of them roamed the halls and into different labs and classrooms, Barry glanced at the students and teachers, seeming to study them as he did. Behind his glasses, Lup noticed his eyes shimmering as he stopped to briefly read what they had written so far, or examine what they had in a petri dish. He was excited to be here, among people who were looking for what he could provide: a discovery. These were his people. His followers.

Eventually, the young man stopped walking and peered longer than normal at some calculus notes scribbled on a chalkboard. There were numbers, letters, and symbols scattered everywhere on it, and the young woman standing in front of it was staring intently at it as if the numbers would suddenly reveal what she wanted to find. Barry stood beside her and smiled as he glanced between her and her work, then gently pressed a finger to her temple for a moment. Less than a minute later, the young woman grew excited and started scribbling more numbers on the chalkboard, connecting equations that looked like they had nothing in common as she did. After a few calculations, she stood back and checked over her work, then threw her hands in the air as she danced a little in happiness, “That’s it! I got it! I did it!”

Lup couldn’t help but smile along with Barry as she watched the young woman rush off to tell others about her work, “Why’d you pick her?”

“She wanted it most. It’s some pretty ground-breaking work, she just needed a little nudge.” Barry read over the notes on the board.

“So how do you know whatever all this is?” Lup said, motioning to what she thought was mostly gibberish.

“I don’t.” He shrugged and turned to her, “My abilities allow me to provide them clarity and perspective on things. I’m no smarter than any mortals, but I can speed things up for them quite a bit.” He looked back at her work, “She would’ve gotten it in a few weeks without my help.”

Lup hummed as her only response, then followed Barry as he walked out of the university and through the little town that housed it. As they wandered the streets, people passing through them easily, she thought about his abilities and how it corresponded to hers in a way. Both brought something into the world that wasn’t there before; they fostered growth and nurtured those who worshipped them. They weren’t all that different.

Barry nudged her a little, bringing her out of her musings, “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about having fun giving people discoveries.”

“Oh yeah?” Lup smirked at him and nudged him back, “You gonna let loose a little?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, no, I just…I do have fun doing it. I like seeing how excited they get, how their eyes light up and they tell others because it’s so big. Like the woman back in the university. But I can’t do it too much. Too many discoveries could lead to changes happening too fast. It would be chaos.”

That made Lup roll her eyes, “Yeah, but it could lead to some great things, too. This is your duty to them, to help them out.”

“That’s the thing, it wouldn’t be much of a help to let discoveries happen all the time. Too much of it at once changes society and people too quickly, and soon they become almost addicted to it. They try to hard to change fate with what I give that they end up destroying themselves.”

“And yet despite the times that has happened before, they keep thriving.” Barry slowed his walking a little, and she looked back at him, “Just sayin’. Humans are resilient fuckers. Even the most disastrous discoveries have yet to completely eradicate them.” She motioned to all the people rushing by, going on about their lives. As Barry watched them, he recognized some discoveries he had given them over the years and smiled as they were used to make life easier and better for even the average carpenter or shopkeeper.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. At least a few more at a time couldn’t hurt.” Lup smiled and nodded for them to continue walking.

The two silently continued on their way through the town, Barry stopping every so often to inspect some work a few people were doing, tapping a couple on their temples to give them little discoveries, helping with their homework or a chess game. Eventually, Lup felt she had to break the silence, “You must’ve been with the Raven Queen a while to have her exact mindset.”

Barry nodded a little as he watched some children playing with a puzzle game, “I’ve been with her my whole life. She raised me.”

“What happened to your parents?” She asked cautiously, “You don’t have to tell me, though, if you don’t want to.”

“Uh…” Barry pondered it a moment, “Well, my dad didn’t think he should claim me, what with being half human, and my mom died a few days after I was born. Someone found me and put me at the base of the mountain as an offering to the Raven Queen, and when she figured out I was a demigod, she took me in and I just…never really left.”

Lup frowned a little as she listened to his story. They were quiet again until they found their way out of the town, “Taako and I were abandoned, too. Our parents weren’t deities, we were just some miracle kinda thing, I guess. They didn’t want us either, so we were passed around for a while until we thought we were old enough to make it on our own.”

“How’d you find out you were deities, then?”

“Well, when your kids suddenly start being able to set things on fire, you start getting a little suspicious.” She laughed, “We were staying with our aunt and almost burned her house down, so she took us to an oracle and it was revealed that we were the god and goddess of fire.” The last part was spoken with a bit of a mysterious tone as Lup made little jazz hands for effect, then smiled and shrugged, “And since she didn’t want to leave us forever to some random god, she kept us and raised us until she died.”

Barry frowned as he glanced at her, then back down to his feet as he walked, “I’m really sorry. It must’ve been hard to figure out how to control your abilities on your own. I know it was hard for Krav when he was younger.”

“It wasn’t too bad. We managed to not destroy absolutely everything we touched.”

“Only most things?” Barry smirked a little.

“Only most things.” Lup giggled and nodded, “It took a couple years to fully get it down, but we did it.”

Barry raised an eyebrow at her, “Well, for the most part.”

Lup huffed, “Listen, we all gotta have some fun sometimes.”

“It seems you two have had a little too much fun, though. But maybe there’s a chance for you to use your fire for something a little more productive?” He nodded towards a little shack on the side of the dirt road, one without a door. Inside they could see a young boy crouched down and a figure laying next to him, motionless. The boy seemed nearly frantic as he struck two stones together in an attempt to start a fire and cook the little pot he had positioned over what seemed to be a little fire pit. As Lup approached, she noticed the figure was breathing shallowly as they watched him struggle, but was clearly unable to help. The goddess entered the shack and knelt down in front of the boy, who had started crying quietly as he tried to light the fire. When he struck the stones together again, she lit a fire in the pit, despite the lack of sparks from the stones. The boy stared in amazement for a moment before smiling and looking to the person laying down. Lup smiled at the two and headed out of the shack. Barry held a hand out for a high five, “Nice work.”

Lup just nodded as she looked around, ignoring his hand. She found a little makeshift well nearby and pulled up some water in the pail and handed it to Barry, “Help me with something real quick.”

Barry took the pail and followed Lup to a clear part of the field next to the shack and knelt down again, digging a hole and pulling a little bag from her robes. He watched as she pulled some seeds out of the bag and planted them, then looked back at him, “Pour some water over it.” She smiled a little as she lit a little fire in her palm, but one that looked more like a little sun than a normal flame, “Part of rebirth is growing, I think this kid deserves some fruit.” The two worked together, pouring water and shining the light on what became a tree in about ten minutes. Once there was enough fruit to sustain the little family of two, they stopped and Lup sighed, looking far more exhausted than she had before. Nonetheless, the smile she gave Barry was sure and more joyful than any others he’d seen from her. Before they left the field, Lup made sure to knock on the makeshift wooden wall of the shack to get the boy’s attention about the tree, then headed off after she had seen how happy he was about it.

On their way to the next town, Barry gave Lup a curious look, “So, how long have you been able to do that?”

Lup shrugged, “A few years? We didn’t have much food for a while, we learned to forage and eventually grow our own.”

“That was very kind of you to do that for him, Lup.”

“Like I said, he deserved it.” They were quiet for a little while, then she spoke up again, “Don’t expect it from me. That was a one-time good deed, I’m not fucking soft.”

Barry laughed at that, “Sure you aren’t.”

Lup glared at him and shoved him lightly, “I swear if you tell anyone, especially Taako, about this, I will make you regret every decision you’ve ever made.”

He smiled at her, “I know you will. I won’t tell a soul.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split this chapter into two both to fit the usual length of chapters in my fics and so I have more time to work on the next part while I get used to my new classes this semester. Plus, I think I'm gonna add a character or two next, so I'd like to take more time to get that characterization right, too. I hope y'all liked this update, it was the only thing working me through my current depressive episode so it may not be the best, but I promise I tried.
> 
> Anyway, feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks and see ya next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Taako huffed as he trudged along behind Kravitz, “Are we almost there? There’s gotta be people to kill closer to the mountain.”

“There are. I’m having our reapers handle them.” Kravitz replied with an unsympathetic expression thrown over his shoulder, “Should’ve thought about that yesterday, hm?”

“Had I known you were a dick, I wouldn’t have agreed to this bullshit in the first place…” Taako mumbled, only to be ignored by Kravitz. They walked for about ten more minutes through fields and into a small village. Children laughed as they ran through the gods and Taako couldn’t help but smirk when one tripped and fell, but stood right away and caught up with his friends.

The two entered a little house, where a man lay in bed dying. A young woman rushed around the single room, doing her best to both take care of the man and get other chores done. Kravitz made his way to the bed, leaning over the man as he breathed shallowly and opened his eyes. The man smiled a bit, clearly able to see Kravitz, who smiled back and whispered, “Are you ready, my friend?” He only nodded in response and Kravitz gently rested his fingertips on the mans chest, watching as he closed his eyes again and his breathing slowed to nothing.

There was a moment of stillness and silence as Taako couldn’t help but look down at his feet and feel bad about the man’s death, even if it was clearly his time to go. He glanced at the young woman, who stopped in her tracks as she saw the old man had died; she bowed her head and started crying, falling to her knees as she did. Kravitz looked back at her with a remorseful frown, before pulling a shining yellow ball from the man’s chest: his soul. Kravitz held it gently with one hand and covered it with the other; when he pulled his hands apart, it was gone, and he was approaching Taako who still stared pitifully at the crying woman, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, homie. Never been better.” Taako shot him the best smile he could manage, “So, we done here?”

“We are.” Kravitz led Taako back out of the house and into the street.

They walked silently until they reached the edge of town, when Taako felt the need to say somberly, “What’s the point of bringing me?”

“Consequences. You saw how losing her father hurt her.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t killed anyone. At most, people have gotten minor burns and lost some property. Not a whole person.” Taako crossed his arms over his chest, “We’re not that cruel.”

Kravitz shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, “But it still hurts. Taako, death isn’t the only pain in the world. There are many other losses that hurt just as much.”

Taako scowled at that, “I fucking know that. That’s my—our whole shtick, though. Destruction. It happens. That’s life.”

“Unnecessary pain doesn’t have to, though.” Kravitz hesitated before pointing to a house behind Taako, “See for yourself. Burn it down.”

“What the hell?” Taako raised an eyebrow at him before glancing back at the house, in which he could see a young man sitting in a rocking chair with a book in his hand, “I thought you didn’t want me destroying shit.”

“It’s his time anyway. Go ahead.” Kravitz nodding to the man.

Taako turned to face the house, taking a deep breath as he watched the man rock softly in the chair. It was a peaceful scene, domestic in a way Taako hadn’t seen since he and Lup had been with their aunt. A little smile pulled at the corners of the young man’s lips, the familiar look tic of someone truly enjoying a story. Taako pushed down the dread and lifted a hand to conjure a fire in his hand. Almost on cue, two small children ran right through him and towards the man, who laughed as he was nearly tackled out of his chair by the kids. He gathered the children, a boy and a girl about the age of five, on his lap and kissed both their foreheads. The smiles on all their faces were brighter than any fire Taako could ever muster, and he lowered his hand and teared up at the sight. He looked down and shook his head, whispering, “I can’t…”

Kravitz made his way closer to Taako, “Why not? Pain is part of life, is it not?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Taako yelled, stepping back from him angrily as the tears fell down his face, “You can’t kill him! It’s not his time!”

“Unfortunately, it is. But, that’s life, correct? Pain and loss?” Kravitz raised an eyebrow at him, watching the little family, “It is quite sad, I agree.”

Taako approached Kravitz again, grabbing him by the collar and tugging him forward until their faces were a few inches apart, “Fucking pick someone else! Don’t—” He rested his head against the taller man’s chest, sobbing openly and whispering wetly, “Don’t take him from them…Don’t take him…”

They stayed like that for a few moments, Kravitz holding Taako as he cried, gently rubbing his back. After Taako had mostly calmed down, he looked up at Kravitz, “Please, Kravitz.”

“I won’t. I’ll speak with my mother.” He held Taako with one arm and looked to his side, where an older woman was walking towards them. Kravitz reached out and touched her chest, pulling out the shining blue ball from her as she collapsed on the ground. Taako gasped softly, but Kravitz only held him tighter to comfort him, “She was a criminal, and no family to be hurt by it.”

Taako sniffled and pulled away from him as he wiped his eyes, “Thanks. I just…Fuck. Kids are little shits, right?”

Kravitz chuckled a little as he got rid of her soul as he did with the old man’s, “Whatever you say, Taako.” Suddenly, he stiffened and turned around quickly, “We have to go. There’s a battle.”

“Why? Can’t you get someone else to go?”

He sighed and shook his head, holding out a hand in which a large black scythe with a red blade appeared, “No, not this suddenly. Follow me.” Kravitz swung the scythe down, ripping a portal and stepping through it. Taako hesitated slightly before following him and soon stepping onto the soft grass of an unfamiliar field. As the two looked around, two large armies approached each other quickly. The sunlight bounced off the shields, and Taako almost instinctively backed away from the points of the spears the men held. Kravitz frowned as the two groups broke into a run and clashed within a minute, now holding his scythe with both hands, “Taako, I’m sorry, but our lesson for today may be postponed until after this has passed, or at least until some reapers can take over.”

“No problem, my man. Taako’s just gonna head over somewhere blood can’t get on this nice dress.” He stepped back away from the fighting and sat down on the grass once he felt he was far enough from the action.

Kravitz glanced back at him before being called by the screams of men injured. Instantly, he made his way through the crowd, slashing through the chests of fallen men with his scythe to gather their souls. Taako lounged as he watched the man move around the battlefield with grace he didn’t expect from him. It was almost soothing, the fluidity of his swipes and lightness of his feet as he collected the souls as quickly as he could to reduce unneeded suffering.

Suddenly, a blinding light appeared on the opposite side of the field from Taako, so bright he had to shield his eyes from it. After a moment, out from the light ran a large, armored man yelling something about rushing in, heading straight to fallen soldiers and kneeling beside them to talk with them quietly. When the light vanished, there stood in its place a small but tough-looking woman, wild black hair framing her soft face as she giggled a little while watching the man she had arrived with. She glanced around as the men moved around her with a hand on a cocked hip, seeming to analyze them as she did. As one man collapsed in front of her, the woman bent down and whispered to him; within moments, he was on his feet despite his wounds and fighting once again. He managed to take down a few more soldiers before Kravitz was able to take his soul. The woman smiled sweetly at Kravitz, who smiled fondly back.

“Hello, Julia. Long time no see.” Kravitz greeted her as he gathered the souls from the men taken down near him.

“Miss us?” Julia approached him and patted his shoulder before moving to whisper to more soldiers on the field. The man with her was still making his way to different soldiers, seeming to comfort them until Kravitz could make his way to them.

Kravitz shook his head at her, still smiling fondly, “Of course. I’m not sure how anyone could not.” Julia smirked at him as she whispered to a soldier, who immediately started running faster into the opposite army. He approached someone the man from the light was kneeling beside and smiled fondly at him as he gathered the soul, “Magnus, good to see you, too.”

“Hey, Krav!” The man, Magnus, smiled brightly at him before looking back down to the soldier, “You did well, friend.” As Kravitz swung his scythe down, Magnus got up and rushed over to another soldier, smiling as he passed Julia. 

It went on like that for a while, Julia whispering to soldiers, Magnus comforting them, and Kravitz gathering their souls, until finally the last of the soldiers had either escaped or were killed. As Kravitz collected and got rid of the last soul, Julia and Magnus made their way back to him, holding hands. Julia smiled at him, “So, how have you been?”

He shrugged, “I’ve been better. I’m babysitting right now.” He nodded to Taako, who stood and was making his way over to them, careful not to step on any fallen soldiers.

“Oh? At least he’s cute.” Julia smirked and nudged Kravitz, who rolled his eyes. She then looked at Taako, “And what might your name be? I don’t think we’ve met before, I’m Julia, this is Magnus.”

“Taako.” He raised an eyebrow at her, then looked down and make sure to step a little further away from the body of a soldier.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re one of the fire deities, right? And you have a twin?”

Taako sighed, “Yeah, she’s with Barold at the moment. Krav was teaching me about ‘responsibility.’” He made air quotes around the last word, “What about you? Saw you helping some of these bad boys out earlier.”

“He’s god of strength and love, and I’m goddess of courage.” She smiled proudly, standing a bit taller and more confidently, “Kinda our job to help inspire them.”

“Mm, that’s nice.” Taako smiled politely, clearly somewhat disinterested, “Must be fun.”

Magnus smiled proudly and let go of Julia’s hand to put an arm around her shoulders, “We like helping people, whatever form it takes.”

“How do strength and love go together, anyway? Seems like two different things.”

“Allowing yourself to love and show it requires strength, and to be truly strong there has to be something you love enough to be strong. Love means nothing without strength and vice versa.” His smile faded into one of fondness as he looked at Julia, who rested her head against his large chest happily, “It takes a special kind of strength to really accept love sometimes, too. That’s another part of my job.”

Taako listened, doing his best to look interested, then nodded when he was finished, “Rad, my man. So you brought love to all these guys?”

Magnus laughed, a hearty sound that seemed to travel further than any normal laugh, “No, strength in the face of death.” He smiled at Kravitz, who chuckled a little.

“He and Julia tend to come together, especially on these occasions.” Kravitz explained to Taako, who only looked more bored by the moment, “But, I suppose you don’t care much about our history, do you?”

“Nah, homie, this is the most interesting part of my day by far.” Taako said sarcastically and with a smirk.

Kravitz rolled his eyes, “I suppose we should be going then. I’ll see you two soon.” He smiled and nodded to Magnus and Julia. Magnus wrapped him in a bear hug, the smaller man looking a little surprised before hugging him back.

“If you need help babysitting, you know how to contact us.” Julia chuckled as Magnus put Kravitz down.

“Of course. Take care.” Kravitz ripped a hole into the palace with his scythe, Taako stepping through immediately with the other young man following close behind. As they stepped out, they were met by Lup and Barry approaching down the hall; when Taako saw them, he ran towards his sister and nearly tackled her, both of them laughing in relief at seeing each other again. Barry smiled as he watched, nodding to Kravitz.

“How’d it go?”

Kravitz sighed and shook his head, “I’ll tell you later.” Barry gave him a concerned look as his friend headed off to his room. He glanced back to the twins, who were on their way to their own room, before following Kravitz.

“You gotta tell me everything, Lulu. What did that fucking dweebus put you through?” Taako asked, linking arms with his twin.

“Actually, the nerd wasn’t too bad. Why, did K-Man pull some shit?”

Taako rolled his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder as they turned a corner in the hallway, “Oh, you have no fucking idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took a while, but I really hope it was worth the wait. I'm a little unsure of what the next chapter will involve, so unfortunately it should take another hot minute, plus some personal issues that have arisen for this week alone. I guess that's just the price we pay for me wanting to provide a story worth reading.
> 
> Comments are so appreciated, I love every one I receive more than anything. If you don't mind leaving one, please feel free! Thanks, y'all!


	5. Chapter 5

“Then this motherfucker is hauling ass around a whole fucking battle to kill these guys, and that’s pretty chill like yeah, this might as well happen. But then there’s this fucking light and now there’s _another_ guy and a girl out there with him fucking making these guys fight harder! It’s like there’s a whole fucking team of them hell bent on making my day fucking longer, ‘cause then I gotta meet them and be polite or whatever, and it’s just…” Taako sighed heavily, finally taking a breath during his story as he collapsed back on the bed. Lup scowled at him as he messed up the nail polish she was applying to his toes, “Lulu, I’m so fucking drained. I had to learn some important moral lesson _and_ socialize with people I don’t know.”

 

Lup rolled her eyes and smiled fondly at him, “Oh, poor Koko. I’m sure you barely survived being around a cute guy all day.”

 

“He’s a lot less cute when he wants me to kill a family, trust me.” Lup gave him a look after that, and he sighed and covered his face with a pillow, “Okay, only a little less cute.”

 

“That’s what I thought.” She finished with his nails and rummaged through a drawer to find the red nail polish she wanted to use on her fingers.

 

Taako sat up, holding the pillow to his chest and smirking at her, “So, how’d your day with wonder nerd go? You’ve been awfully quiet about him since we got back.”

 

Lup shrugged, more focused on not getting the polish on anything but her nails, “I dunno, it was good. He’s a nice guy. It was kinda cool seeing him use his ability.” She couldn’t help the small blush that came with the thought of his smile when he was helping people.

 

Unfortunately, Taako noticed it and gave her a look, reaching out to lift her chin to look at her instead of her nails, “Oh no, we’re not pulling that shit. You’re not actually thinking about him like that, are you?”

 

“What?! No! He was just…kinda cute, is all.” Lup refused to make eye contact with her brother and pulled her face away form his hand, “He got so happy when he gave that girl a discovery. It was really sweet.”

 

“You know, someone who looks kinda like me once said ‘don’t get too attached.’ Didn’t say it too long ago, either.” Taako dropped his hand but raised an eyebrow at her, “You going back on being the one to remember what our aunt said?”

 

Lup glared at him, but there was more hurt in her eyes than anger, “It’s not like you don’t wanna get with Krav. Shit changes.”

 

“Listen, you wanna be with Barold, fine. But you gave me shit just for thinking Kravitz was cute. Only seems fitting to give you some back. And with the way things went today, I think I can talk our way into release for good behavior, so keep that in mind before you do anything.”

 

The two were quiet for a while, Lup finishing painting her nails in favor of staring out the large windows while Taako brushed out his hair. She couldn’t help but imagine how happy Barry had been today, and how nice it had been to help that little boy. Part of her really wouldn’t mind sticking around to keep doing that, but the rest of her knew how little her twin wanted to stay, and that part won out. They were all they truly had, after all. She couldn’t abandon Taako for some cute with a cute face and good heart. Eventually, when Taako had finished with his hair and was starting to lazily flip through one of the books Lup had on her bedside table from the day before, Lup sighed and kicked his leg softly, “We can head out whenever you want.”

 

Taako smiled softly at her and took her hand in his, “Hey, it’s for the best. We always worked better just the two of us.”

 

 _Only because we never stopped long enough to try with anyone else._ “Yeah. Just the two of us.”

 

-

 

“So she lights a fire for this kid and I thought for sure we would just leave and that’d be that, but she took me outside to the field and she just…Krav, she took out a seed and grew a whole tree for them!” Barry smiled fondly as he leaned back on Kravitz’s bed, “She gave them fruit so they wouldn’t starve.”

 

Kravitz smiled back at him as he played with the bottom hem of his vest, “That’s nice. At least we know we don’t have as much work to do with her.”

 

Barry frowned a little and looked over at where his friend sat near the window, “Did the day with Taako not go well?”

 

“Well…” Kravitz sighed and looked out the window to what remained of his garden, “It went better than I expected, I suppose. I think he’s grasped that people are hurt by his actions, but not that he should stop being so destructive because of it.”

 

“At least you’ve got half the battle down.” Barry gave him a hopeful look, “And I’m sure Lup will rub off on him eventually.”

 

“Let’s hope so. He’s so annoying sometimes.” The young man rested his head back on the edge of the window, groaning, “Even when he’s not destroying everything, he has to go and be sarcastic _all the time_.”

 

Barry sat up again, “Maybe it’s a defense mechanism?”

 

“What do you mean?” Kravitz looked at him, brows pulled together in confusion.

 

“Lup told me they were abandoned when they were little, and they spent a long time trying to survive just the two of them. Maybe subconsciously he’s sarcastic to protect himself after what he’s had to go through.” Barry shrugged.

 

“Is Lup like that?”

 

Barry thought a moment, then shook his head, “Not really. I mean, she’s sarcastic, but she was pretty open with me today. At least, more open than I was expecting.” He smiled softly, face turning faintly red as he looked down at the bedspread under him, “It was nice, having her trust me like that.”

 

Kravitz smiled at him, “Oh? You had a very god day, didn’t you?”

 

“Hush.” Barry’s blush grew darker as he tried to look away to hide it, “She’s just really nice. And pretty. You know we don’t get to be around girls our age much here, it was different.”

 

“I have a feeling there’s more to that, my friend.”

 

Barry shrugged a little, the smile on his face fading into a frown, “It’s not like they’ll be here long enough for it to really matter. I’m sure they’ll leave the second your mom lets them go.”

 

Kravitz frowned at that and got up, moving to sit beside Barry, “Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean the two of you won’t see each other again. There has to be times you’ll be able to be together.”

 

Barry nodded a little but still looked doubtful, “Yeah, maybe. But…it’s me. Even if we are in the same space, I doubt she’d want to be with me of all people.”

 

“You don’t know that.” Kravitz nudged Barry lightly, “You’re a wonderful man.”

 

“But have you _seen_ her? Why would she want anything to do with me?”

 

“Because not only are you handsome, but also kind and intelligent. Anyone would be lucky to have you.” Kravitz put an arm around Barry’s shoulders in a sort of hug.

 

Barry glanced at him, smiling a little, “Thanks, Krav.”

 

They stayed like that for a few moments before Kravitz stood and returned to the window to retrieve his guitar, strumming the first few chords of a song his mother had sung to them when they were little. Barry visibly relaxed upon hearing it, leaning back on the bed again and closing his eyes. If nothing else worked out how he wanted to with Lup, he could count on his friend to be there to comfort him.

 

-

 

Long after the sun sank below the horizon, plunging the mountain into darkness along with the rest of the world, after the rest of the inhabitants of the sprawling palace of the Raven Queen had gone to sleep, Taako donned his sister’s robes. Sparing a glance over to his sister, asleep and snoring softly in her bed, one arm covering her eyes and the other clinging to a pillow, the young man snuck out of the room, careful to close the door as quietly as possible behind him. He pulled the hood over his head and tip toed down the corridor, yawning softly into his arm as he did so. With his plans for the night, he knew he wouldn’t be getting much sleep, but it would be well worth it.

 

As Taako stepped outside, he pulled the opening on the robe closed against the chill and looked around to make sure he was alone. Once he was sure no one would be watching him this late, he lit a small flame in the palm of his hand to provide light as he got to work.

 

-

 

Kravitz woke up a bit later than usual, having been up late talking and playing music with Barry to relax after their long day. By the time he had gotten ready for the day and arrived at the dining room for breakfast, Barry and Lup were already there eating and talking with each other. When they saw Kravitz, Barry blushed lightly and looked down at his plate, where he was pushing a piece of his omelet around; Lup laughed a little at him, making him look up at her with a bright smile. Kravitz raised an eyebrow at the two of them with a small smile of his own, “Good morning, you two.”

 

“Mornin’, boss man.” Lup smirked at him and took a large bite of an apple, “Sleep well?”

 

“I did. And you?” Kravitz replied, sitting across from Lup and Barry and starting to put food on his own plate.

 

Lup nodded, “Like a baby.” She nudged Barry lightly and whispered something in his ear that made him blush even harder.

 

“Good. Where’s your brother?” He said as he took a sip of orange juice.

 

“Still asleep.” Lup shrugged, “Should be up in a few. I think he had a nightmare, he wasn’t in bed when I got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. He probably went for a walk or somethin’.”

 

“Hm.” Kravitz frowned a little at that as he started to eat. He couldn’t help but worry a bit for Taako. Nevertheless, he did his best to not let it show and internally resolve that he would simply check on him after he finished his breakfast at a perfectly normal pace.

 

It didn’t take long to eat, and it seemed even quicker with the entertainment Lup and Barry were providing. The two had grown closer than Kravitz originally thought, talking and joking like they had known each other years instead of a couple days. It was nice to see Barry so at ease with someone besides Kravitz, and part of him really hoped the twins would stay long enough for their friendship to grow for Barry’s sake.

 

Lup led the way back to the room she shared with Taako once they had all finished eating, knocking on the door before entering after there was no answer. Taako was still in bed asleep, sprawled on top of the sheets and drooling on the pillow. Barry and Kravitz watched as Lup sat on the edge of the bed and shook Taako awake, her twin looking confused at her and then at the other two men in the room, “Wha’ time is it?”

 

“Time for you to get your lazy ass up.” She stood and nodded to the door, where Barry and Kravitz were still standing and waiting, “We gotta go.”

 

Taako groaned as he sat up and rubbed at his face, “Fine, gimme a sec to get dressed.” The two other men closed the door to give him privacy, waiting the few minutes it took for him to open the door in a flourish, still looking tired but dressed in black leggings and a maroon blouse under his robes while he braided his hair back, “Let’s go, I guess.”

 

The four headed towards the door leading out of the palace, Kravitz trailing behind a little as he watched Barry and Lup walk together, still laughing about some whispered jokes Lup was telling just quietly enough to be a secret. Taako trudged along beside him, looking exhausted, like he could fall asleep at any moment. Kravitz considered letting him stay back to rest for the day, but he knew the sooner Taako learned to control himself and leave, the happier the other man would be.

 

Kravitz glanced out to his garden out of habit as they passed by and stopped dead in his tracks when he did. He stepped towards the doorway leading out there slowly, on the verge of tears as he did. Barry, Lup, and Taako stopped and watched him approach the door carefully, the smile on Taako’s face tiny as he did. Once Kravitz was sure of what he saw, he broke into a run to what he saw.

 

His favorite rose bush, the one he’d grown himself for so long and that was burned so quickly, the one he sat and read or learned to play music by as it grew, it was there alive, full of bright red flowers he loved. Kravitz stood in front of his rose bush, now as big and vibrant as it had been before the twins came to live with them a couple days ago. He couldn’t help but start tearing up as he stared at it, joy filling his heart at the sight of it alive again. Barry walked up and joined him, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling at his friend, “It’s back…”

 

“Yeah…” Kravitz nodded and wiped his eyes before the tears could fall. He looked back at Taako and Lup, who were standing a few feet away with matching smiles on their face. Lup had her arm around Taako’s shoulders, hugging him close, “Did…did you do this, Taako?”

 

Taako shrugged and looked down at his feet, “Yeah. I felt bad, thought I could at least bring it back since you loved it so much.” He glanced up, his smile more shy and hopeful than before, “I mean, I know it hurt you to lose it, and that’s kinda the whole point of being here, right? To learn that sappy shit?”

 

Kravitz chuckled and nodded, “It is, yes.” He made his way over to Taako, pulling him into a hug, “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

 

“No problem, my man.” Taako seemed surprised, melting into the hug a little but only patting Kravitz’s back a little with one hand.

 

After a moment, Kravitz pulled back and smiled a little at him, then sighed a little and looked back at the roses again. He looked at it for a few moments before he looked at the other three and nodded towards the door back to the palace, “Shall we head off, then?”

 

The four of them walked back into the palace and towards the doors out of it, Kravitz and Taako walking a little closer than before subconsciously, Barry and Lup following behind, hands brushing by each other’s every so often. Kravitz smiled a little to himself, happiness filling him every time he thought of what Taako had done for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long, turns out classes and depression is one fucking tough combination. I do intend to finish this fic even if it kills me, hopefully by the time this semester ends, so just hang in there with me. I hope y'all enjoyed at least this addition to it.
> 
> Comments are so appreciated, y'all have no idea how much they help. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks went by quicker than any of the young people had thought it would. Lup and Barry continued to work closely together and spent more and more of their time together over time; Taako noticed his sister sitting closer to Barry at meals every day, and she seemed to spend an awful lot of time with him outside of just working together during the day.

 

Not that Taako could really give her shit. He found himself drawn more to Kravitz than he had been before. Just watching him exist was interesting, particularly around the palace. Kravitz liked being alone, and always seemed thoughtful; it wasn’t uncommon for Taako to see him sitting alone next to his once again flourishing rose bush with his guitar or a book. It was like being alone was natural for him, even though Taako knew he and Barry had grown up together. It was strange to Taako, who clung to Lup as his lifeline, the only person he knew he could fully trust in the world. Barry and Kravitz didn’t need that kind of reassurance with each other, and Taako figured it was a result of their drastically different upbringings.

 

Taako worked well with Kravitz after he had regrown the rose bush, even joking with each other when they spent the day together. It became more natural for Taako to mostly use his fire for productive reasons: burn the crops of an aristocrat who had become a little too powerful in his community, clearing brush for travelers, helping hunters catch animals. Of course, he at times did manage to burn a building or two, but Kravitz made sure they were already abandoned before allowing him to get that out of his system. Things were…okay. Kravitz lightened up on him, Taako found it more enjoyable to be around him, enough to be halfway okay with Lup not spending as much time with him.

 

It was one particular evening after dinner when Taako and Kravitz were hanging out that Taako was summoned to the Raven Queen’s throne room. Halfway there, he was joined by Lup leaving one of the libraries, “She called you, too?”

 

“Yeah. What the fuck did you do this time?” She nudged Taako, smirking as he rolled his eyes.

 

“Nothing. As you know, I have done nothing wrong, ever, in my life.”

 

Lup snorted, “Bullshit, but I love you anyway.”

 

When the twins entered the throne room, the Raven Queen stood to greet them. The three of them met halfway, and there was a hint of a smile on the Raven Queen’s face which they could see under the raven skull that covered most of her gray face, “Taako, Lup, you two have shown remarkable progress in your understanding of how your abilities should be used. Istus and I are rather proud, if I’m to be honest.”

 

Taako smirked and shrugged, “What can I say? Pride is my middle name.”

 

The Raven Queen’s smile fondly grew a little as she shook her head, “I believe it is time the two of you be allowed to leave. If you would like to, that is. My boys seem to be rather fond of both of you, I’m sure there would be no complaints if you stayed. Especially from Barry.” Lup felt her face heat a bit at that and was hit by the feeling that if the Raven Queen could visibly wink at her, she would have.

 

“Wait, we can really leave? Like, this isn’t a goof?” Taako sounded far more excited about it than Lup felt.

 

“Of course it’s not. I will not keep you longer than you need be, and with you not causing unnecessary destruction anymore, I see no reason for you not to be allowed to leave.” 

         

Taako and Lup looked at each other, Lup’s dread not quite evident on her face. Before she could say anything or discuss things with Taako, he spoke for both of them, “Fuck yeah! We can be out of your hair by this time tomorrow.” She nodded in agreement and Taako tugged Lup out of the throne room, “Lulu, we get to leave! We’re fucking audi 5000!”

 

Lup stopped him in the hallway, looking concerned, “Taako, where will we go? Hell, you didn’t even talk about this since we got here. What if…”

 

She trailed off, looking at the ground. Taako frowned at her, stepping closer to her and speaking softly, “What if…you wanted to stay?”

 

“I mean,” Lup sighed, glancing up at his eyes before staring at her feet again, “I-it’s nice here. We have a roof over our head and food and _friends_. Taako, when was the last time we had all of those at the same time?”

 

Taako stared at her for a minute, considering what she’d said before he let go of her hand, “We’re prisoners here. Is this about Barry?” When Lup didn’t answer, Taako gave her a hurt look, “You’re really thinking about staying here for some guy? We could make our own place in this world, build something for ourselves for once, and you wanna give that up for _him_?”

 

“And how close have we ever been to finding a place in this fucking world, let alone making our own?” Lup snapped at him, “At least here we’re around other deities, people who understand us. We don’t even have a following down there outside a handful of people _I’ve_ helped. I’d rather be prisoners here than freaks there.”

 

Both of them were quiet for a while, neither able to look at each other until Taako looked up at her, tears in his eyes as he nodded, “Alright. You can stay here. But I’m not.”

 

Lup looked hurt, close to tears herself, “What do you mean? You won’t stay for me?”

 

“I won’t be a prisoner here, Lup! I refuse to stay in this stuffy fucking castle when there’s a whole world out there I could be part of!” Taako’s voice got louder as he spoke, and Lup backed away reflexively. When he realized what he’d done, he moved closer to her and pulled her into his arms, the twins clinging to each other as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Lulu. I just…I can’t stay here. I don’t like being cooped up, you know that.”

 

Lup nodded against his shoulder, still crying quietly, “I know, but…we’re a team. We’ve never been apart longer than a day in our _lives_ , Taako.”

 

Taako gently kissed her cheek and pulled apart only enough to gently hold her face and wipe away her tears despite the trails of his still flowing. She instinctively reached up to wipe his, too, making him laugh wetly, “Maybe this will be good for us, then. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or some shit like that. And if you want, I can visit every couple weeks to catch up, and you can join me whenever you want.”

 

“Oh, I’m gonna be checking up on you every so often. Can’t have my baby brother doing some stupid shit while I’m not there to save his ass.”

 

            Taako couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that, “Wouldn’t expect anything less.” He sniffled and hugged her against tightly, his voice barely above a whisper, “’M gonna miss you.”

 

“I’m gonna miss you, too. Maybe one day we can have our place somewhere together.” She clung to him and buried her face in his shoulder.

 

“Definitely. I’ll make sure of it.”

 

Lup held Taako’s face as gently as he had with her, “Just please promise me you’ll be responsible. I don’t want you getting yourself in trouble and dragged back here by force.”

 

Taako nodded and smiled reassuringly, “I promise.” Lup smiled back and kissed his forehead, then linked arms with him as the two of them headed back to their room to spend their last night together bonding.

 

-

 

When Kravitz entered the dining room for breakfast the next morning, he was a little shocked to see Lup looking uncharacteristically upset. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she sniffled repeatedly as she pushed around the food on her plate. Barry looked up at Kravitz enough to offer a little smile as a greeting before focusing on Lup again, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her. Kravitz sat across from her and cleared his throat, “So…Taako already left?”

 

Lup nodded, “Yeah. Early this morning.” She took a small bite of her pancakes and frowned.

 

Kravitz couldn’t help but feel disappointed knowing Taako wouldn’t be around anymore. Over the weeks, he had grown to care for him deeply, even enjoying the time spent with him. After Taako had regrown the roses, the two spent more time together sitting on the bench or ground near them, especially when Lup and Barry were busy with each other. Over that time, Taako had opened up more than Kravitz was expecting (although still not a significant amount), and they often found themselves talking comfortably, Kravitz softly strumming his guitar while Taako read or braided his hair. Once Kravitz even let Taako braid his hair, despite being a little nervous about what he would do to it in the process; nevertheless, the end result was the most perfect braid Kravitz had ever seen, with small flowers from around the garden tucked gently into his hair. He’d kept the braid in almost two days until it got too messed up throughout the days to keep it any longer.

 

Their time together meant that Kravitz had come to develop feelings for Taako, and now it was all for naught. He looked down at the plate in front of him, not bothering to touch any food to put on it. Part of him was kicking himself for becoming so attached when he knew it wouldn’t last long.

 

The three of them sat like that for a little while, all feeling off (or distraught, in Lup’s case) in Taako’s absence, until it was time to actually do what they had to for the day. As Kravitz watched Barry and Lup walk off together, Lup nearly clinging to Barry, he sighed and headed off on his own way, alone and wishing Taako was there to tease him or ask who was scheduled to be taken to hell.

 

This would be a long day.

 

-

 

Taako couldn’t help but feel lost without Lup by his side as he wandered a small village. Every step he took made him regret leaving, each a reminder of how far he was from his heart and soul. The two weren’t meant to be separated, but Taako loved his freedom. He’d made his choice and it was too late to turn back now, as much as he wanted to.

 

As a child ran right through him, he barely caught himself before making some joke to Lup about feeling so invisible in this town. Taako frowned as he kicked at a rock, which didn’t even budge, and kept walking through the town. Glancing inside a house, he could see a small family sitting around a table and laughing as they ate; he scowled at the cliché scene and muttered under his breath, “Of fucking course.” Making his way out of the village, the sounds of the children’s laughter still ringing in his ears, Taako stopped near the edge of the forest that seemed to engulf the dirt road leading to the next town. As he gazed back, he thought he saw a small figure sneaking around the back of a house, looking down at the ground with what looked like a magnifying glass in hand. With a smirk, Taako made his way behind what he soon recognized as being a young boy, watching him intently as he inspected the ground.

 

The boy continued searching for whatever it was that required a magnifying glass, Taako following closely and looking where the boy was. After a minute, Taako sighed and shook his head, “Geez, is it that important, kid?”

 

To Taako’s surprise, the boy jumped when he spoke, spinning around fast enough to lose his balance and fall down as he let out a little scream in shock, “W-who are you?!”

 

Taako stepped back in shock. He couldn’t be seen or heard by mortals, not now when he chose not to be, “I…I’m Taako…? How can you see me?”

 

“I…Y-you’re right there, sir. Why wouldn’t I be able to see you?” The boy frowned a little, standing up and brushing off his nice brown shorts and blue sweater vest before looking up at Taako again, “And why were you watching me?”

 

“Oh no, my question first. How can you see me? I’m a god, you shouldn’t be able to see me.”

 

The boy shrugged, “You’re just right there.” He paused a moment, “Wait, are you really a god? Like Taako the god of fire?”

 

Taako lit a small flame in his palm with a proud smile, “Duh.”

 

“Oh, wow. It’s so nice to meet you, sir! I’m Angus, I—” Angus’s excited smile faded, and he immediately dropped to one knee with his head bowed, “I’m sorry, sir, please forgive me. I-I’ve never met a god before.”

 

“Yeah, because mortals can’t fucking see us.” Taako nudged Angus with his foot to stand up again, “Which makes me think you might not be a mortal. Got any special abilities there, pipsqueak?”

 

Angus shook his head and slowly stood up, still not looking Taako in the eye, “Not that I know of. Although, people do tend to trust my judgement more than they would a normal kid, but I thought it was just because I’m good at solving mysteries.”

 

“Huh.” Taako watched him for a moment, then sighed, “So, got any family or anyone to miss ya? I’m thinking I’ve got myself a little god in training on my hands.”

 

“I…No, not anymore. My grandpa just died a few weeks ago, and my aunt is too upset about it to take care of me anymore.” Angus sniffled a bit at it, but put on a brave smile as he looked back up at Taako, “You really think I might be a god?”

 

Taako shrugged, “Maybe. Guess we’ll find out.”

 

Angus fidgeted with his magnifying glass and nodded, “Yeah. I guess we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! Life is rough, but I'm doing my best. I hope it was worth the wait, feel free to leave comments, they're all very much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how often I plan on updating, especially with the holidays and a new semester starting right after, but I will do my best to keep it halfway consistent and timely. I also have a general idea of where I want to go with this, but the details aren't completely worked out, so if there's anything specifically you'd like to see, feel free to comment requests and I'll see what I can do. If not, comments are always appreciated either way for praise or constructive criticism.
> 
> Thanks!


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